Favourite foreign language films

[toasty]

Given the general lack of imagination in Hollywood films, I've been trawling through Lovefilm's foreign language archives and have seen some very entertaining films from Oldboy to The Lives of Others to Almodovar's entire catalogue.

Watching 35 Shots of Rum (french film, very little happens but it really gets under your skin) again this morning reminded me how different and involving foreign cinema can be.

So what are your favourite subtitled/foreign language films? Any corkers I'm missing?

[944fan]

Taxi and Taxi 2

Does that make me a philistine?

[toasty]

Not at all, top films

[obob]

City of God and District 13 just for the stunts.

[jmorgan]

Das Boot.

[Golden fleece]

"City of God". Excellent Brazilian film made in 2002 and set in the Rio slums.

Also classic Franch films like '"Jean de Florette" and "Manon des Sources".

Edited by Golden fleece on Friday 17th September 11:11

[pugwash4x4]

944fan said:

Taxi and Taxi 2

Does that make me a philistine?

HELLL NO - superb movies- humour, action, excellent car chases, great characters, etc etc

some of my favorite movies- they are MUCH funnier if you can understand french.

[Smiler.]

Not a film but The Wire. About 15 minutes in, then had to use subtitles

[NoNeed]

Another vote for city of god here. Watched it last night it was excellent.

[Hammerhead]

Betty Blue. Yeah, she was fit & went like a rabbit, but the worst case of 'The Mental' ever.

The Wave. When social experimentation on young minds goes wrong.

The Baader Meinhof Complex. Badass freedom fighters.

[boomboompow]

Run Lola Run, Das Boot, Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Hero, Hard Boiled, House of Flying Daggers and Zatochi

[Nicholas Blair]

Cinema Paradiso was good.

[Bullett]

Nikita
Amelie

And I can't believe no-one have mentioned Seven Samurai (or most of his other films).

[andy400]

'Hors de Prix' ('Priceless') is very, very good. It's a romantic comedy, but it's a cut above the usual stuff we would class as such. Very stylish, well filmed and none of the comedy is lost in translation at all. Excellent

And that's not all - it's got Audrey Tautau in it, looking awesome from start to finish, which should be reason enough for the average PHer!

[KB_S1]

boomboompow said:

Run Lola Run, Das Boot, Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Hero, Hard Boiled, House of Flying Daggers and Zatochi

A good start.

Some other favourites of mine.


Amelie
Big Boss
Y tu Mama Tambien
Clubbed to Death
Old Boy
Seven Samurai
Spirited Away

[shirt]

some off the top of my head. some classic, mainly modern:

a bout de souffle
jules et jim
micmacs
amelie
delicatessen
mesrine - pts 1 & 2
goodbye lenin!
persepolis
life is beautiful
the counterfeiter
spirited away
black book [HIGHLY recommended]
downfall
pan's labyrinth
the lives of others
the white ribbon
gomorrah
coty of god
la haine
three colours trilogy
assembly
blame it on fidel
the bothersome man
C.R.A.Z.Y
cinema paradiso
4 months, 3 weeks and 2 days [bleakest film ever!, won an oscar]
infernal affairs
oldboy
harry, he's here to help
5x2
irreversible
lebanon


i do like european cinema, though i often think that it is easier to be won over as you are concentrating on the visuals only - dialogue may be very poor for all we know.

Edited by shirt on Friday 17th September 13:06

[boomboompow]

KB_S1 said:

boomboompow said:

Run Lola Run, Das Boot, Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Hero, Hard Boiled, House of Flying Daggers and Zatochi

A good start.

Some other favourites of mine.


Amelie
Big Boss
Y tu Mama Tambien
Clubbed to Death
Old Boy
Seven Samurai
Spirited Away

Forgot about Hayao Miyazaki's films; love all of them, just watched My Neighbour Totoro with my 6 year old cousin; think I enjoyed more than she did

Oh and I forgot one of my all-time favourites; The Motorcycle Diaries.

Edited by boomboompow on Friday 17th September 12:39

[Muzzer]

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (still the only film I've been to see at the cinema twice)

Downfall (excellent Hitler's bunker-based film, in German)

[onomatopoeia]

Bullett said:

And I can't believe no-one have mentioned Seven Samurai (or most of his other films).

That's because I only just saw this topic . Rashomon, Yojimbo, Throne of blood, The hidden fortress (which all Star Wars fans should watch) etc. etc.

A few others ...

French :
Diva
Subway
Blue
Red
Cyrano de Bergerac
Jean de Florette
Manon des sources

Spanish:
anything by Almodovar. Women on the verge of a nervous breakdown is my favourite

Polish:
A short film about love
A short film about killing
No end
White
Ashes and diamonds

Blue and A short film about love are in my all time top three (with Paris, Texas, which is in English but made by a German director).

[andy400]

'Jamon, Jamon' if only for copious nudity from Penelope Cruz.....